The Martian

I read The Martian after watching part of it on television. The book has too much science porn. 

I'm not a scientist. If this were about a subject I knew more about, the level of "into the weeds" in it would still get too much at some point.

Plus, it got repetitive. People obviously enjoyed the book. But just saying as one of them.

Something comes up, he figures a way to deal with it, in intricate scientific detail, rinse/repeat. Please, can we get back to the other people? They even sometimes have to deal with intricate scientific details. They do not go into that much detail. Other stuff also happens.

It's appreciated that we get repeated reminders of the possibility of human error, unplanned occurrences that will screw things up, etc. But this got tiresome.

I liked the book as a whole once I got into a groove of quickly reading all of these details.  I have noted that it is harder for me to get into books in recent years. 

I completed this book in less than a day. So, you know, not all bad.

The human element is done well overall. Sometimes, I wanted to learn more about the other characters. The rest of the crew, e.g., seem interesting.

I suppose online there is fan fiction covering their adventures. We receive a few snapshots of their personal stories, including a single home-to-ship live communication. Three are married, and the other two have a thing going on with each other.

We know the maroon crew member's parents are alive; he's from Chicago and doesn't seem to have a significant other. Other than that, there is no backstory. One of the discussion questions addresses that. The book is largely about one guy, alone, and you do not get to really understand him too much. 

It was flagged in an earlier morning thread that a key science point was problematic. The author edited the book over time as he received feedback on scientific details (my copy has an interview with the author). 

He did not fix everything. Dramatic license and other factors do come into play.

He later noted he was aware of the issue. And, anyway, I saw one account that said it "may" be a problem. We don't know for sure.

The book tosses in a somewhat out-of-left-field comment about alternative food supply options. I wondered how long that would last.

Checking online, one commentary noted they left that part out. It is a cannibalism hypo. I can see why. 

They also left a few things out of Hail Mary, a recent well-received film also based on the author's novel. My copy provided the first chapter as a preview.

From what I saw, the Matt Damon film was well made. Good cast and so on. 

I cannot judge the science of it all.

I also appreciate the sentiment about how it is human instinct to help people, with some exceptions. A key plot point involves the Chinese Space Agency helping, with some sacrifice to their own efforts. 

Checking Wikipedia, the film tells you what Matt Damon's character will do when he gets back. 

The book ends with his rescue. So, you know, maybe there is a disaster later on, and the whole crew dies!